As a senior, this year will be a series of lasts for me. I just experienced the beginning of my final fall quarter at the UW and my last opportunity to see the same familiar faces after returning from summer break. The next last on my calendar is Halloween — at least, the last time to celebrate it college-student style.

Once you graduate and enter the “real world,” Halloween loses most of its fun — at least according to my friend Tija. Senior year is the last opportunity to really go all-out. After all, next year we’ll be worrying about showing up to work for our big meeting the following morning.

Since most seniors are over 21, this year we have the advantage of being able to go to parties in the Greek system and enjoy the 21-and-older options available in the Seattle bars and clubs. Almost all of the downtown clubs and bars — including Cowgirls, Trinity and Heaven, among others — are hosting some sort of party. Let’s not forget the underappreciated Ave bars, which are also hosting events for the occasion.

For techno fans, Freak Night is an annual, epic event not to be missed — this year’s lineup includes Paul Van Dyk, Moby, The Crystal Method, Morgan Page, DJ Flave and Hyper Funk. There’s a full bar for the oldies, but you can bring your under-21 friends along, too. For those who want a more mature vibe (i.e. partying with high-schoolers isn’t your scene), Halloween at the Showbox is bound to be a good time — there’s a costume contest with a $1,000 top prize and $4,000 in prizes total for all the different categories.

Besides the bar and club scene, this is my last chance to hit up the fraternity parties and not be that creepy old person who’s already graduated. After all, how many opportunities will we have to drink for free in a year or two? Greek life is hedonism at its best, and this is our last chance to be a part of it. Even if it does mean partying with freshmen and feeling like a senior citizen, it’s still fun. This is our last chance to drink Keystone Light and play beer pong with the simple justification, “I’m a college student.”

While you’re at it, there’s no shame in going to shady house parties either. After all, once we graduate, crowding into a random person’s basement and mingling with people we’ll never see again will seem sketchy at best. Plus, we can now do so without fear of getting busted by the UWPD for an MIP.

Let’s live it up while we can, and enjoy our last year of wandering around the U-District in search of Halloween reverie. Let’s revel in this last opportunity to dress up in little more than animal ears, a corset and fishnets without feeling ridiculous. After all, once we leave college and all our friends are suddenly married, how will we justify dressing up as a slutty Snow White?

Finally, let’s enjoy the final stage of prolonged adolescence that is college life. Eat too much candy. Bob for apples. Host a pumpkin-carving party. Go all out, class of 2009 — this is your Halloween.

Reach columnist Katie Paff at opinion@dailyuw.com.